


Frozen Together

by Whatevergirl



Category: Enchanted (2007), Frozen (2013)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2014-09-04
Packaged: 2018-02-16 03:37:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2254431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whatevergirl/pseuds/Whatevergirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As King Edward of Andalasia heads over to Arendelle for the marriage for Princess Anna and Kristoff, he meets Prince Hans and they discover what it is like to experience True Love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frozen Together

Once upon a time, in a beautiful kingdom known as Andalasia, King Edward was struggling not to admit defeat as he watched Nancy hurry outside again. She was still running her business and it left her little time to help him with running his kingdom. They had married, but there was no happily ever after. 

She kept telling him about how bad reception in New York was by comparison, but he had had enough of hearing about it. He sat heavily down in his chair, debating whether or not to speak with the woman.

He wanted to suggest that she should leave, head back to her imperfect world and run her business from there. She had no interest in him.

It was odd, but his mind kept going back to what Giselle had told him, about the way you ought to marry for love, but that love was based on similar likes and dislikes. Nancy didn’t even notice him. She couldn’t care less about trolls, or trade agreements, or how the farmers were doing. She didn’t want to talk about going to other countries to encourage good relations.

She refused to even discuss an heir. They had tried once, but apparently he hadn’t been having enough fun. She simply told him that until he understood the act of producing an heir was something they should both enjoy then she wasn’t even going to consider the idea.

He had tried to explain that they had been married over a year now and people were asking why she wasn’t with child. He tried to explain they had a duty to the people of Andalasia to ensure the monarchy was continued, but she had stormed out.

She had come back later on, apologetic in a sense, but her steely determination still holding her straight. She had tried to explain how he shouldn’t kiss her as though he were preparing to do battle. He had objected, but had been unable to deny it when she claimed that kissing her did not send a thrilling sensation through his body. 

He wondered if maybe they should have gone on a date first.

“Edward?” Nancy popped her head in the door.

“Yes, my dear?” he didn’t call her ‘my love’ anymore, it wasn’t fitting.

“I was wondering about taking a vacation.” She shut the door gently behind her and smiled beautifully at him. “I want to spend some time in New York.”

“What for?” he found himself asking, even though he would be happy for her to leave.

“It’s my home.” She replied simply.

“We have a wedding to attend though.” He said softly, eyes staring at his hands, folded before him on the desk. He didn’t want to meet her eyes.

“You don’t really need me there for that.” She said.

Edward stayed silent. It would be most improper for him to go alone, especially now that he was married.

“I’ll only be gone a few months.” She whispered, before turning and leaving.

Edward buried his head in his hands.

\------

The Kingdom of Arendelle was a magnificent, if small, kingdom. Andalasia did trade with it, and so when the time came of Princess Anna to marry, he made the long trek north. As the King sat shivering in his carriage, he wondered if he should have insisted Nancy come with him. He hoped no one would comment on the fact that his wife had no real interest in him.

“King Edward?” called a voice from in front.

“Yes, Jonathon?” he called back, trying to keep the exhaustion from seeping into his tone.

“I think it is advisable to stop. The snow storm is turning into a total blizzard and I don’t want to get turned about, Your Majesty.”

“No worries, good sir. I’m sure you know better than I. Let us find an inn, then.”

“Over here.” The servant took them over to a small building, the sign was covered in snow, but Edward trusted his servant. 

Knocking on the door, they were pleased to find it was an inn and they had rooms available. Edward couldn’t be bothered with the fuss that came of being treated as a king. They were only staying until the storm blew over and he didn’t want to have to keep a distance between himself and everyone else.

He dropped down in front on the fire, pulling off his gloves and holding out his hands.

“Cold?” a soft voice asked. It was a man, a small smile on his face and green eyes gazing down at him.

“It’s snowing.” He said, unable to keep the petulant tone out of his voice.

The man chuckled and sat down beside him.

“We live near the Ice Queen. It probably doesn’t help things.”

Edward nodded his head, but didn’t reply. The Ice Queen… Queen Elsa… he had heard of her powers, but she didn’t seem to be evil. When he had been younger, his step-mother used to perform silly little spells to make him laugh. He had been convinced that not all who used magic were evil, despite the stories he heard the servants telling.

“Does… magic make people evil?” he asked, wanting to get someone else’s opinion. Maybe she hadn’t been evil. Maybe she had known that Giselle wasn’t his true love and was trying to help…

“What? I… I don’t like Queen Elsa, but I don’t think she is evil.”

“Oh.” He stared at the fire, his mind whirring. He hadn’t been thinking about Queen Elsa. He glanced again at the main, taking in his pale features, his thin lips… he wasn’t familiar. How did he know royalty? “Have you met her?”

“Yes… I wasn’t at my best.” The man glanced away, uncomfortable. “I made a mistake and I fear it will impact badly on my family.”

“Your family?” Edward sat up, curiosity flooding through him.

“Yes, I- Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself. Hans Westergaard.”

“Westergaard? Isn’t that-?”

“I’m the youngest prince of the southern isles.”

“Oh. They don’t treat you like a prince.” Edward said gently, looking over at the innkeeper who was deep in conversation with Jonathon.

“I didn’t tell them. I’m not very popular right now.” The man sank deep into his chair, a dark look shadowing his face.

“I’m Edward… of Andalasia.”

“Andalasia? What are you doing all the way up here?” Hans cocked his head slightly at him. 

“I’m here for the wedding… Well, not here. I’m heading up to Arendelle.”

“Oh.” Hans sighed quietly. “I need another drink.”

Edward watched as the man stood up and walked over to the innkeeper. She refused to serve him though, shaking her head and shooing him away.

“I’m going to my room. I have a few bottles of wine. Care to join me?”

Edward found himself nodding, eager to find more out about the bitter man.

\------

Hans stared at the man sprawled out beside him, hiccoughing. He was having fun with a commoner. He couldn’t believe it. 

His parents would be horrified.

Edward was from Andalasia. He had a wife who wouldn’t touch him, and had refused to travel to this wedding with him, instead going away for work. He was ridiculously naïve but instead of finding it annoying, Hans found it fascinating.

“How did you meet her?” He blurted out, then winced at his tactlessness. The man had said he was having troubles, maybe he didn’t want to talk to her.

“She was the woman engaged to my love’s true love.” Edward said with a sad look covering his face.

“Wait, what?” he asked, trying to puzzle that one out.

“I thought I had found my true love… but she wasn’t. She got trapped in another world, and there a peasant who looked after her and she was his true love.”

“He stole your true love?” Hans felt an odd irritation on this man’s behalf. 

“So, Nancy was engaged to this man and I thought ‘why shouldn’t she have a happily ever after too’.”

“Was she your happily ever after?” 

“Mine?” hiccoughed Edward, eyes staring at him with confusion in the pale blue depths.

“Yeah. Your happily ever after.”

“I… Mine?” Edward seemed stuck on the idea. 

“Yeah.” Hans shifted from where he was leaning against the headboard to look down into the face of the man lying on his bed. 

“I think I missed mine.” He said softly.

“You aren’t the only one.” Mumbled Hans, flopping down beside the man.

Edward didn’t reply, he simply snuggled down and began to breathe in long, even puffs. Hans couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the edges of his mouth. 

He wondered if he could find his own happily ever after with this common man. He had always known that he would be unable to find it with a woman; they had never really interested him. However, he had tried… sort of. 

His mind drifted to the terror that had struck him when Anna had come in demanding a true love’s kiss. He had known that while he was fond of her, he wasn’t in love with her. He was ashamed to admit he had panicked. 

He had been sad to think she would die, but he had figured there was no way to save her so he had decided to focus on saving Arendelle instead. Though, perhaps he could have done so in a kinder manner.

It was all he had thought about over the months since he had left. Why hadn’t he explained that while there were people who found true love, a lot of royalty married for politics? Why hadn’t he explained that love developed later on, over time?

Edward shifted slightly. Hans moved to wrap his arms around the man and hold him close, heart pounding as he did so. Maybe he could stay with Edward… his parents had been refusing to talk to him since he had been returned home in chains…perhaps this was all right...

\------

The next morning, Edward woke with his body half covering the other man, his head resting on his chest. He wondering if this was the thrilling sensation that Nancy had been talking about, the way his whole body shuddered as he looked at the slumbering face of the other man.

He was surprised to find he wanted to kiss Hans. The thought of pressing their lips together made his chest heave and his mouth water. It was strange, he had always found the idea of putting his lips against someone else’s less than appealing, though he assumed it would be enjoyable with his true love.

As Hans’s green eyes fluttered slowly open, Edward leaned forward and gave in to his wish. It was a soft press, and it made Edward whimper slightly with the feeling.

Hans wrapped his arms around Edward’s shoulders and deepened the kiss. The feel of his tongue softly rubbing against his own stirred up sensations in Edward that he hadn’t felt since before his father had been killed, near the start of his teenage years.

He lay on top of the Prince’s body, slowly kissing him while greatly enjoying the heat of their bodies. It felt like a warm, safe cocoon that he never wanted to leave. Kissing Nancy had never even come close to this. 

“Oh-kay…” mumbled Hans, pushing Edward back slightly. “Okay, that was… unexpected.”

“I’m sorry.” Edward said, mortified. Had Hans not wanted to kiss him too? He pulled back, scrambling to get off the bed as a blush burned his cheeks.

“No, wait. Edward!” he struggled to untangle himself from the blankets as Edward grabbed his boots and hurried away. “Wait!”

As the door slammed shut, Hans stared in horror for a moment at the dark wood. He then sat up and focussed on getting out of the blankets. He did something wrong… He wasn’t sure what though.

He hadn’t wanted Edward to feel his arousal, not when he had a sneaking suspicion that the man had never had sex before, despite being married. It took longer than it should have for Hans’s brain to wake up enough to know he should be chasing after Edward. 

He charged down the stairs, eyes scanning the empty room. 

“Have they left?”

“You mean Jonathon and the lad you made friends with? Just now. Did you have an argument? He seemed most upset.”

“A misunderstanding.” He said, softly. 

“Don’t you worry, my boy.” Said the innkeeper as she watched his face fall. “I’m sure you can catch them up.”

“I… Yes. I must try.” He nodded his head, and hurried upstairs to gather his things. 

Once out on his horse, galloping towards the harbour, Hans couldn’t keep the thrill out. He was following his heart. He had never done anything so reckless before. He was following a man he… had a certain amount of affection for, straight into the heart of Arendelle. 

As he approached the docks, he hoped no one would recognise him. He was not the same man that had been taken from Arendelle 7 months earlier. He had lost weight, grown a full beard and was not in a pristine outfit. Perhaps he could pass for a commoner. 

“May I have passage to Arendelle?” He asked the dock master softly. 

“You just missed the passenger boat heading over there, but there are working vessels heading that way. Feel free to barter your own way across, or wait until the next boat, which is tomorrow now.”

“But the wedding…” he said, that was where Edward was going. He had to get there before the man made the long voyage back to Andalasia.

“That’s tonight my lad, you’ll have to find someone to ferry you over.”

Hans nodded, desperation fuelling his moves. 

Thankfully, there was a captain who took pity on him. It was after asking everyone else in the dock and receiving replies that their boats were heading elsewhere that the man came over to him.

“I’m heading over to Arendelle. You want a spot on my ship?”

“Please.” He said, trying to keep the tears of frustration at bay. He couldn’t understand why it was so upsetting, but the thought of not seeing Edward again was stomach churning.

“You’ll have to help with the cleaning, but you can come with, lad. What’s your name?”

“Hans…” he replied, hesitantly. 

“Hans.” The man smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t judge just cos you share the same name as that idiotic bastard.”

“Thanks.” The kind gesture hurt though, that people he had never met would judge him based on one mistake. He simply nodded his head and led his horse over to the dock’s stables.

\------

Edward sighed and tugged at his green tunic. Princess Anna and Sir Kristoff had asked that the guests all wear green based outfits. They had wanted to have an outdoors style, so there were browns and yellows as well, but no reds or oranges except in the floral decorations. 

He wore a green tunic and blue breeches, with a plain green waistcoat underneath. His tunic had yellow embroidery on, and it was adequate at keeping him warm during this winter wedding.

His mind, however, was not on the wedding at all. His attention kept wandering back to Hans, the hand flung out to try and reach him as the man failed to unwrap the blankets from his legs. He half wished he had not left though. He wished he had waited to hear what Hans had wanted to say, but the fear of rejection had spurred him on.

Edward feared greatly that he could not take much more rejection. He had already proven himself to be terrible at finding love, both with Giselle and then with Nancy. He couldn’t hear the words pour forth from Hans’s slim lips as well. It would hurt too much. 

He stared blankly at the couple stood before the priest, not even managing to muster up a grin when Princess Anna knocked both herself and her new husband over in her enthusiasm to kiss him. He thought about Hans… he was sure there had been some rumours concerning Hans Westergaard in relation to Princess Anna, though he had paid them no mind when they had been circulating. 

Once the princess had dragged her husband out the church, the guests began to head over to the ballroom for the party. 

“Edward?” he heard a soft whisper, and he turned to look. Hans was stood in a door way, his jaw dropped as he stared at the crown on Edward’s head.

“Hans!” he grinned. The man had come after him. He hurried over, smiling even wider when Hans gripped his fingers and pulled him down a corridor and into a small room. There was a fire crackling, a few arms chairs dotted around and a solid bookcase in the corner of the room, but not much else inside. 

“You’re a… prince?” he asked, hesitantly reaching his fingers out to touch the crown.

“King…” Edward replied softly, realising he had not informed the other man of this. “Of Andalasia…”

“I came here, hoping to tell you that I wanted to be with you… but if you are king, then I cannot be.” Hans’s shocked expression broke, his features creasing up as a tear fell down his cheek.

“Why not?” asked Edward, not wanting the man to hurt.

“I’m son number 13, my parents don’t need me to have children. But you… as king, you will need an heir.”

“Please…” Edward took a step towards him, arms reaching out. “We can find a way around that. Please.”

Hans gave in, surging forwards to press against Edward. Their lips met in a burst of passion and Hans felt his heart burn for the man he stood with. He wrapped him arms around Edward’s body and pushed him up against the wall, smothering his face in little kisses. Edward moaned, his hands gripping Hans’s shoulders as he floundered, unsure of what to do with the desires that ran through him. 

The doors were flung open and Kristoff and Anna tumbled inside. Hans separated himself from Edward, taking a step back as worry flooded his veins. 

“You!” Anna snapped angrily, her eyes narrowing as they locked onto him. 

“Princess Anna.” He tried to smile and he took another step back, though it wasn’t successful. 

“You weren’t invited. What made you think I wanted to see you?”

“I apologise, Princess Anna. He came to see me.” Edward slipped into the gap between Anna and Hans smoothly, smiling brightly at her. He watched as the princess failed to keep a hold of her anger when faced with Edward’s simple innocence.

“King… Edward?”

“Of Andalasia.” Edward smiled happily and bowed slightly. 

She was about to reply when a squeak caught their attention.

“Pip!” Edward couched down to allow the chipmunk onto his hand. It squeaked loudly at him, paws flying around. “You think? I suppose I could.”

“You can understand… it… him?” Hans blurted out, staring wide eyed at the animal.

“Of course.” Edward gave him a puzzled look. “Can’t you?”

“He’s squeaking…” Anna answered the king, her face pulled into a bemused expression.

“I can… understand bits, like I do with Sven. Not enough to hold a conversation though.” The man by Anna’s side was looking at the chipmunk in Edward’s hand, a grin spreading over his face.

“Truly? How do you talk to animals then?” asked Edward, looking at the Princess and her man.

“We don’t… normally.” Anna replied. “I wonder why…”

The animal made more noise, drawing Edward’s attention. The man nodded his head. “Different magic in different places. I suppose so. I have been somewhere that had no magic at all. It was not a pleasant place. I didn’t understand it at all.”

“No magic at all?” said Anna, her eyes widening. Hans glanced at her curiously, wondering if one day he could have learnt to love her.

“Pip says that Hans and I need to go find a fairy godmother. You don’t know where any are, do you?”

“Fairy godmother? I don’t know of any around here.” Anna told him.

“There are one or two in Andalasia, so if you don’t mind the trip?” Edward turned his large blue eyes on Hans, and the Prince knew he could deny the man nothing.

“Whenever you wish to leave, I’ll be at your side.” He vowed.

“Oh, now that’s just adorable.” Anna cooed, grinning at them. 

“I’ll need to speak with Jonathon then. If you’ll excuse me.” He bowed at the princess and left the room.

“You were kissing him.” Said Anna’s man as soon as the door had shut behind Edward.

“Really?” Anna turned to stare at Hans. “I didn’t see that.”

“You were busy falling into the room.” The larger man told her with a fond smile.

“So, do you love him?” Anna asked, her arms folded across her chest.

“I met him yesterday.” Hans replied. “I certainly like him, but it is a little too early for love.”

“You came to Arendelle for him. You’re saying that isn’t love?”

“I met him yesterday!” Hans stressed at her. “Give it some time.”

“I think you found your true love.” She grinned at him with a knowing expression on her face. 

“It can’t be true love. He is a man.” 

“Why should that make a difference?” she asked coolly. 

“He is King of Andalasia. He needs to have children.”

“Lots of people need a fairy godmother to help with their true love.”

Hans just stared at her for a moment, before turning his attention to the man behind her, hoping he could see sense. The man just shrugged at him in a way that said he had given up arguing. 

“You wait here.” She said before she hurried out the room, pulling her husband along behind her. The door shut behind her with a resounding thump, and Hans sank down onto the floor. 

What was he even doing? Why had he felt a need to come here and chase a man who was several years older than him, infinitely more innocent and was both a king and married?

He wondered about this Nancy who had returned to this ‘other world’ because her husband wasn’t interested in her sexually. He wondered if she knew why. He hoped he would never have to meet her though. A gentleman was not supposed to hurt a woman, but if he ever met this Nancy, or this Giselle that Edward had spoken of when he had drunk the wine Hans had provided, he suspected he would be unable to resist hitting them.

They had hurt Edward though. They had made that beautiful, innocent man sad, and that was unforgivable.

“I thought I heard you were here.” Queen Elsa walked smoothly into the room. Hans lifted his head to look at her, but he remained on the floor. “I won’t have you hurting my sister.”

“I’m not here for your sister.” He told her bluntly. 

“You have caused enough problems here.” She said softly.

“I was trying to save Arendelle. If you were unable to will the winter away, then there was only one other way I knew of to dispel it.”

“You would have killed me.”

“To save Arendelle.” He said, trying to make her see.

“You told me I had killed Anna.”

“I thought it was the truth.”

“You told everyone you had married her before her death.” She was rounding on him, the air dropping in temperature around her.

“It was the best solution. If she was dead then there was no obvious person to take over. Arendelle is one of many countries with an absolute monarchy. If she had died and I had not taken over, they would have still been debating what to do with you as the winter got worse and worse.”

“It’s so easy when you can make your ambitious ways seem reasonable.” She snarled at him, ice spreading up the walls. “You just had to kill me to get to a position on the throne.”

“There are more important things than power.” He spoke his newly learnt lesson, thinking of Edward. He would have given up everything to be with Edward, the common man. Just because Edward was a king, didn’t mean he could give up. Maybe Princess Anna was right and he needed a fairy godmother to make this work.

“Yes, there are.” She said, turning away and stalking out the room as Edward slipped in.

“Hans?” he said softly, hurrying over to the young man. 

Hans didn’t reply though, pulling Edward down and into a tight embrace as the ice continued to spread around the room. He felt sick, faced with his past mistakes. 

“Why is it so cold in here?” Edward wondered softly, but he leaned against the wall and pulled Hans into his arms, allowing the man to hide his face in his chest.

It took some time before Hans pulled out of the warm hold, looking around the icy room in concern. He stood up and hurried over to the door. It was stuck.

“Can you help?” he asked, nervously. Edward came over to try and help open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Window?” 

The two men headed over to the window but that too was frozen in place.

“What do we do?” asked Hans softly, staring at the frost glazed pane of glass. 

“Wait for Princess Anna to come back?” suggested Edward, doubt clear in his voice.

“Right. Let’s sit by the fire. It’s still going… just.”

Edward nodded and the two men pulled the cushions off the various chairs and dropped them onto the floor in front of the fire. Lying on top of them, the King and the Prince curled into one another to try and keep warm.

\------

It was a long time before Princess Anna found the time to leave her wedding reception again. It wasn’t until she saw a servant wandering about asking people quietly if they had seen King Edward of Andalasia that she even remembered Hans.

Elsa overheard him asking about King Edward, but she shook her head, unable to recall seeing him recently. Anna excused herself from well-wishers and hurried out and down the back corridors to where she had last seen Hans. 

However, when she got there she was unable to reach the end of the corridor, it was frozen, with too many shards of ice protruding through the air. She turned and ran inelegantly back towards the ball room, pelting through the crowd to her sister.

“Elsa, what have you done?” she said, as she gripped the woman’s hand.

“What? Anna, are you alright?”

“Yes, just… come on!” 

Elsa carefully excused herself and hurried after her younger sister, though Anna was running again, fear propelling her forwards.

“Here! What did you do?”

“I didn’t…” Elsa’s eyes widened as they took in the scene. “I was talking to that Hans; I told him to stay away from you.”

“He wasn’t here for me. He’s here for his one true love.”

“True love.” Elsa gave an exasperated glance. Clearly, her sister still didn’t believe in it. 

“Well, he won’t call it love because they only met yesterday, but it is true love. I can tell.” She nodded in a satisfied way, feeling pleased that Hans had found someone who took notice of him.

Elsa didn’t reply, instead she focussed on making the ice retreat. Her face briefly showed her concern before she flatten it out into a neutral expression.

“It… was an accident, right?” checked Anna as she stepped towards the door.

“I left here angry.” Nodded Elsa, her eyes once again showing a worry she couldn’t keep out. “I forgot not to do that.”

In the room, it was freezing. Anna shivered as she hurried in and looked around. By the cold fireplace, the two men were curled up together. She ran over, sliding on the icy floor, but not caring. Elsa stopped and concentrated on removing the ice from the room as Anna dropped to her knees beside them.

“They’re both breathing.” She sighed in relief, but it was short lived when she realised how cold they were. “I think they need a doctor.” 

“I’ll go call one.” Replied Elsa from her spot by the door. She hadn’t stepped any further in the room than necessary, so it took a second from her to leave. 

“I’ll wait here.” Anna muttered softly, glancing at the damp wood and wishing she could light a fire to warm them back up.

She was worried that they were barely shivering though, just lying there with skin turning blue, too still. Hopefully because it was Elsa’s magic ice they would be okay. 

When Kristoff made it into the room, she flung herself into his chest and sobbed. 

\------

It was nearly a week before Edward’s eyes flickered open again. Groggily, he sat up and looked around the infirmary. At a desk on the other side of the large room lounged a nurse, she looked exhausted as she dozed in her chair, so Edward decided to be quiet.

There were a few other people in beds too, including Hans. His skin was a healthier looking pink than the blue Edward could remember, and he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

He wondered if he could get up and go over without disturbing anyone, but when he began to move so did the room, tilting in a way that made him curl into his pillow and clench his eyes shut.

“King Edward!” A deep voice called cheerfully. “You’ve woken up, at last!”

Jonathon came to stand by his bed, beaming at him. Edward managed a weak smile in response. 

“Are we allowed to go home now?” For, he could admit he would like nothing more than to spend several days in his own bed; where he knew where everything was and where his pillows and blankets had the right smell.

“It’s been 6 days since… I doubt you can go just yet.” Jonathon looked at him with worried eyes. “Prince Hans has woken several times, but you barely even stirred. Queen Elsa is most upset.”

“Then someone should go tell her I am fine.” He said eagerly, trying to shoo the man away so he could have another moment of privacy.

“I think I should be the judge of that, Your Majesty.” The nurse was walking over to the bed, her face set as though preparing to face down a difficult battle. 

“I could do with a drink of water, I suppose. Other than that, I am well though.” Edward insisted.

“You go tell someone he is awake.” She sent Jonathon off before turning to face the king. “Here’s some water. Sip it.”

He obeyed, not finding the courage to argue.

“You’re awake?” croaked Hans’s soft voice from the bed beside him.

He nodded, but didn’t speak as the nurse crossed her arms and frowned at him. He just sipped his water. Hans pulled himself up, hair a mess and creases imprinted in his skin from where he had been sleeping on his pillow.

“You’ve shaved.” Edward blurted out, when he realised what it was about the man that was so different.

“Yes. Not willingly, but apparently you aren’t allowed any facial hair in here.” He gave a cheeky glance to the nurse’s upper lip, but wisely chose not to follow up on that comment. 

Edward chuckled slightly, before looking back down at his cup meekly. The nurse glared at Hans before turning her attention back to Edward.

“Because it’s not… natural ice, we don’t think there should be any lasting damage, but follow my instructions.”

“I will.”

“Hold your arms above your head for 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… Drop them. Out to the side, 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… Now, touch your right index finger to your nose… now your left index finger… Now your right middle finger, and the left… Right ring finger… and the left. And your little fingers… excellent.”

Edward grinned happily, pleased he had passed the first test. Hans was smiling fondly at him.

“How’s your vision? Can you see the words on the wall over there?”

There was a sign about looking after your teeth. He nodded his head.

“Let’s have you standing then.”

He swung his legs down off the bed and staggered to the floor. He was thankful that Hans had jumped up and wrapped an arm around his waist, because the floor was tilting unevenly around him.

He pressed his face into Hans’s chest and waited for the feeling to pass. Once it had, he peeked out. The nurse was frowning at Hans again, but Edward refused to let the man go. He straightened up slowly, keeping one hand on the man’s shoulder and the other stretched back to the bed he had just left.

The room stayed where it was meant to, and slowly he followed the instructions to walk about. 

“Back in bed then.” She commanded, and Edward obeyed happily. His little excursion had left him tired. “Your servant says you will need to be heading home soon. I see no reason to stop this. Just get plenty of rest.”

She turned and headed back to her desk. Hans took her place by his side.

“You managed to miss the full battery of tests they had by waking up second.” He smiled down at the king. “They kept me going to ages.”

“She just doesn’t like you.” Mumbled Edward sleepily.

“No one in this kingdom does. I think if the Queen hadn’t commanded it, they would have left me entirely alone.”

“I would have come looking.”

“I know.” Hans smiled again, though the confusion in his face tugged at Edward’s heart, as though the man didn’t quite understand why someone would bother.

He wanted to tell Hans he loved him, but he was unsure if it was the right thing to do; he didn’t want to say he loved someone and have them leave again. Sleep pulled him under as he was still trying to think it through.

\------

Hans tried to relax as he sat in the carriage beside Edward, he really did. However, he was travelling to Andalasia. It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever done! Edward had said he didn’t want to leave him behind, so Hans had said he wouldn’t have to… and here he was, listening to Edward chatter enthusiastically about troll hunting.

Anna had called it romantic as she he seen them off, but Hans didn’t want to think about it. He just knew there would be a piece of himself missing if he headed back to the Southern Isles alone. 

“Nancy!” Edward suddenly gasped, half way through explaining how trolls actually had a good sense of smell.

“What?”

“What if she comes back?”

“Is she likely to?” He didn’t feel terribly threatened by this woman who had decided that Edward wasn’t enough for her.

“I don’t know. I don’t understand her.” Edward leaned forwards, resting his arms on his knees and looking miserable. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” He said, unsure of what response Edward was wanting. “If she doesn’t want you then it’s her loss.”

Edward looked up curiously at him. 

“People will be disappointed if I don’t have a queen.”

“It doesn’t sound like she was much of a queen anyway.” He reached out to cup Edward’s soft cheeks with his hands. “And they can’t complain about your marriage if you didn’t consummate it.”

“She wasn’t too bad.” Edward objected weakly. “Though we never… had… we never… didn’t have…”

“Sex?” He grinned as Edward’s cheeks burned in his hands. He was almost surprised the man knew what sex was, he came across as astonishingly innocent, as Hans smirked as he told Edward so.

“There were books around the castle.” He muttered. “My step-mother never spoke to me about it, but we have vast libraries.”

Hans leaned forward and kissed those plush lips gently. It still sent a wonderful shudder through his body every time they made that connection.

“Lucky you. My parents made the governess explain it to me in detail. It was traumatic.” She had been older than the hills, but thankfully unfazed when he had asked about two men together. She had simply looked him up and down, said something about 12 older brothers and changed her lecture from man and woman to man and man.

That governess though, had stated that he would never have a true love so long as he looked after the same gender. It seemed so foolish, now that he had Edward in his arms, to have believed her unquestioningly. 

Then again, he had spent the week in between Edward waking up again (the day after he awoke) until they actually got away trying to ignore Anna whispering ‘True Love’s kiss’ at him at every possible chance. Her belief that they were meant to be together, that they had recovered so quickly because they had been together… it was sort of inspiring, even if he would never willingly admit it to her.

“Maybe you could come visit this New York with me.” Edward suddenly said, out of the blue.

“Is that the city through the portal into another world?” asked Hans, wrinkling his nose with a decided lack of enthusiasm.

“Yes. Maybe it will make more sense when I’m not alone.” Then there was a sudden burst of squeaking, making Hans jump. “Yes, I know you were there, Pip. But you couldn’t talk and explain anything… and I’ve never been any good at charades.”

“That is going to take some getting used to.” Hans sighed, wrapping an arm around Edward’s shoulders as the chipmunk chattered away in the man’s palm.

“You won’t be alone in it.” Grinned Edward, twisting slightly to kiss his nose. 

“Never again.”

“Nope. We just need to get back to Andalasia, find a fairy godmother, head out to New York and speak with Nancy, then come back home and aim for happily ever after.”

“No pressure.” Hans grumbled, but he was grinning. The prospect was very appealing.

“And possibly mention to your parents where you are…” Edward added on, ruining the moment for his love.

“They don’t need to know.” He whined, looking pleadingly at Edward. 

“Sorry, love. They probably do.”

“So much for happily ever after. My mother will want to visit.” He flopped down, allowing his head to land in Edward’s lap as the other man’s laughter filled the carriage.

“We are going to live happily ever after. The end!”


End file.
